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It had been a long day but, hopefully, she would find some peace here. The library may be pretty concurred during the day, but there was no-one to be found during the night. Laura walked down the stairs, heading towards the history section: if she wanted to finish her paper, she’d have to find some accurate information first. She thought about the internet, but after reading some really inaccurate things, she decided books were more reliable.
It took her longer than expected to find the history section; the library was huge and the fact the books were flying around didn’t make things easier. Everybody knew this was the typical modus operandi at Silas, but books could have some manners, right? She finally arrived there and started to look for the right book. After checking them all she realised it wasn’t there; question was: who took it?
As soon as she thought this, she heard someone saying, in a really angry tone by the way, something like: “I can’t believe this got published. Who wrote this stupid book?! It’s no wonder kids nowadays don’t know a thing!”
Curious as she was, Laura couldn’t stop her feet as they followed the voice, taking her away from the books and closer to the tables where kids were supposed to study. She turned around the corner only to be met by a beautiful and very angry brunette, who was holding exactly the book she was looking for: “European history, Tome III”. Now that she thought about it, maybe holding was the wrong word: she was writing furiously on it with a red pen.
“This is so inaccurate! People don’t even do research anymore! Ugh!” the brunette kept ranting while she continued writing on the book. Laura couldn’t believe what she was seeing; books were sacred and what this girl was doing should be considered a sin, somewhere. She had to put an end to it. Besides, she needed the book for her paper.
“Hum, excuse me?” she said doubtfully, how do you even tell a person they’re committing a sacrilege to a book?
The brunette raised her eyes for a second, and Laura could swear she saw a little smirk, but then continued with her task.
“Excuse me? I’m talking to you”
At this she slowly began to put the book down, finally. “I heard you the first time, cutie”
Did she just call me Cutie? Seriously? A pet name wasn’t going to stop Laura though; she was going to save that poor book. “Oh, that’s good. Then tell me please: what are you doing?”
“What does it look like?”
“Well, it seems you’re ruining a perfectly good book”
“Ruining?!” she stared at her as if Laura was missing something so obvious it was almost insulting “A good book?! You have to be kidding me” she said as she turned the book towards Laura and pointed to the picture of some military guy Laura didn’t recognise “’A great commander, who lead his troops to battle, saving the whole city’” she read in a monotonous tone “This guy was a drunk and used to abuse girls! Why isn’t this here, huh?”
“And how do you know this?” she asked. It seemed like a reasonable question, how could she know it if she wasn’t there?
“I... That’s not the point. The point is most of these books are filled with lies, lies that are told to students everyday! I’m merely... correcting, this historical inaccuracy.”
“I see” Laura said, completely confused and honestly not caring at all; she simply wanted the book “So, you mind if I use it for a bit?”
“Be my guest, Creampuff. I was almost done anyway” she said as she gave the book to Laura, who sat at the opposite side of the table, got her laptop out and began working. As soon as she laid eyes on the page, she found out that pretty much every single word was “corrected” by the girl’s red pen. There were even snarky comments and remarks, but mostly it said things like “Inaccurate”, “Lie” or “Seriously? Who wrote this crap again?” She had to admit it was kind of funny, even if it didn’t make any sense. She looked to see if the brunette was still there, and she was, now holding a book written by someone named “Friedrich Nietzsche” Even the name sounds boring, she thought.
After realising the book was completely ruined and was unreadable, she gave up. She didn’t want to go back to her room though, Betty was having a “guest” that night, and Laura really didn’t want to be there. So, she decided to entertain herself, and what better way to do so than discovering something interesting about this mysterious brunette sitting right in front of her?
“So, what are you reading?”
“What does it look like?” the girl said with a hostile voice. Really, what is wrong with her?
“Hum... ‘Thus spoke Zarathustra, by Friedrich Nietzsche’, although I have no idea who he is; care to enlighten me?”
“Well,” she said closing her book, “he was a German philosopher of the 19th century. He had a really difficult life and presents some interesting and refreshing views about humanity and life in general. He was an existentialist”
Okay, to Laura that made absolutely no sense, but there was something about the way she said it, the passion, the way her eyes seemed to glow when she spoke, the smooth tone of her voice... She needed to hear that voice again; forever, if possible.
“Oh, that’s really interesting. Why do you like it?”
“Well, I’ve already read it actually. But it is considered his best work and it’s a personal favourite. Plus, the way it’s written is really peculiar. Not only is it a complicated prose, but it is also filled with references to different books, mostly the Bible”
“Wow, you really are a philosophy mayor, huh?”
“Am I that obvious?” she said with a little smirk. Holy crapsticks she’s so pretty! “You okay there, Creampuff?” she asked with a concerned voice. Damn it, she’d been staring. Her levels of gayness were off the charts near this girl.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just wondering: what’s your name? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before”
“You don’t strike me as the person who comes to the library in the middle of the night, cutie; but, if you must know, my name is Carmilla”
What an exotic name, she thought; fitting, if you stop to think about it. “Oh, that’s a really nice name. Mine is Laura”
“Good to know. Now, may I go back to my reading?” her tone didn’t seem as hostile as before, and still Laura didn’t want to let her go. She looked at the clock, it was already four am! How long had she been trying to figure out that book? It was time for her to come back to her room but, honestly? She was terrified to come back alone, and walking around the campus with such a cute girl didn’t seem a bad choice...
“Actually, I should be going but it’s really late and, to be honest, after the Alchemy Club ‘accidentally’ released those zombies around the campus, it doesn’t seem safe to walk around at night, so...”
“So you want me to walk you to your room? Whoa there, cupcake. Buy a lady dinner first!” she said with a grin. Damn, she’s so smooth!
“I didn’t mean-“
“I know, I know. I was only kidding, loosen up a bit” she said with a small laugh. “Come on, pick up your stuff. I’ll walk you”
Laura did as she was told, turning off her laptop and putting all her books in her backpack. Carmilla even offered to take it for her, which was a really nice gesture. And so they began walking out of the library, towards Laura’s room. In their way they talked a bit, mostly about books. Laura was really surprised at how much Carmilla knew, and could notice the passion behind her words, even if she tried to hide it.
Once they reached room 307, Carmilla stood there and Laura didn’t really know what to do, what to say. She really wanted to see her again, but wasn’t sure how to say it. She had to try though; she knew firsthand the consequences of leaving things unsaid.
“I... It was really nice talking to you tonight; maybe we should do it again”
At this she could swear she saw Carmilla smile for a brief second. “Maybe we should. If you ever want to find me, the library is the right place. See you around, Creampuff”
At this she turned around, leaving Laura standing at the door, looking at her walking away. What she couldn’t have known is the huge smile that ran across Carmilla’s face as she walked away. Maybe things are actually starting to get better.